Emergency reporting application

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication-based casualty reporting, responder-ready emergency application system permits users to notify one or more pre-programmed responders of an emergency event so that an emergency alert can be broadcast to notify the users in the facility/site of the emergency. The system includes a check-in and verification component to provide access with respect to each specific facility/site. The system further includes a data storage provision coupled with the main application and is configured to maintain logs of alert events and other relevant information for future reference to build protocols and check for any patterns. To facilitate these operations, the system is programmed to relay crisis management plans and standard emergency protocols to users within a facility/site when an emergency event arises.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to an application that providesfor communication of emergency alerts between and among users' portablehandheld devices of the users as well as building alarm systems,residential alarm system, annunciator devices, and other alarm deviceslocated inside or outside a business or residence.

BACKGROUND

In general, facilities/sites can be confusing to navigate for personsunfamiliar with the premises, especially in terms of egress points andproviding a location to meet in case of an emergency. Differentfacilities/sites may have identical looking layouts and/or thefacilities have complex layouts. Facilities/sites may have chaoticconditions, such as ongoing construction, heavy machinery operations,repair, emergencies and maintenance work. Such conditions may renderregions of the facility/site temporarily inaccessible or hazardous to beused. When an emergency event occurs, these conditions can prove to bechallenging for persons at a facility/site and can complicate theprocess of rapid evacuation.

Facilities/sites often provide one or more evacuation maps depicting thecurrent location of the person and the nearest egress points. However,during an emergency event, commotion may render these maps useless.Conventional alert methods involve manual tracking and verbalcommunication of warning which can prove to be inefficient andinaccurate. Also, it can sometimes be difficult for persons to judge thecredibility of an alert (i.e., whether it is verified or may even be ahoax). In such instances, persons may not have enough credibleinformation to take appropriate response measures.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide an emergency reportingapplication comprising: a control system configured to communicate withone or more handheld mobile devices over a wireless communicationinterface to provide real-time updating and assessment of an emergencyevent occurring at a specified facility or site; and at least onedatabase coupled to the control system, wherein the at least onedatabase may store real-time maps and locations of the specifiedfacility or site for retrieval by the control system upon occurrence ofthe emergency event, wherein users associated with the one or morehandheld mobile devices may check into or otherwiseregister/pre-register with the emergency reporting application, and uponchecking into the emergency reporting application, the users can reportthe emergency event to one or more emergency responders and receive analert about the emergency event from the one or more emergencyresponders through the emergency reporting application. The users maycheck into the emergency reporting application using a unique quickresponse (QR) code or personal identification number (PIN). When theusers report the emergency event, the users may provide documentaryproof of the emergency event or the system can confirm the event isassociated with an electronic boundary of the location, building, orevent. A crisis management plan associated with the specified facilityor site may be displayed or provided upon activation of the alert aboutthe emergency event. The control system may provide real-time updates tothe users for the specified facility or site while the alert isactivated. The specified facility or site may include the facility orsite and area within a predefined vicinity of the facility or site. Inone alternative embodiment, the area can be drawn by a user or createdin real time. The emergency reporting application also may include alocation determining agent associated with the specified facility orsite that discloses the locations of the one or more portable mobiledevices of the users to the one or more emergency responders inreal-time after the alert is activated. The control system may activatea sound alert at the specified facility or site when the alert isactivated.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure may provide an emergencyreporting method comprising receiving an alert about an emergency eventat a selected facility or site over a wireless communication interfacefrom one of a plurality of end users associated with the selectedfacility or site; verifying the accuracy of the alert about theemergency event; transmitting the alert to the plurality of end usersassociated with the selected facility or site; and displaying a crisismanagement plan to the plurality of users associated with a selectedfacility or site, wherein the crisis management plan may be stored usingone or more databases coupled with a control system that may providereal-time updating and assessment of the emergency event occurring atthe specified facility or site. The verifying step may include receivingone or more items of documentary evidence from the one of the pluralityof end users that provided the alert or a verification that the end useris within a certain proximity to the site or facility that is related tothe event/emergency. The method may further comprise providing theplurality of end users with information about emergency centers that arenearest in proximity to the specified facility or site. Emergencycenters may be selected from the group comprising: hospitals, clinics,fire stations, medical clinics, first aid stations, and policedepartments. An emergency supervisor may perform the verifying stepusing the control system. The one of the plurality of end usersassociated with the selected facility or site must be checked into thecontrol system to transmit the alert. The plurality of end users maycheck into the control system by providing a quick response (QR) code orpersonal identification number (PIN). The received alert may identify alocation where the alert originated, time when the alert was sent, andan emergency type. The emergency type may be selected from the groupcomprising: medical, fire, smoke, personal threat, violence, explosion,weather emergency, spill, leak, gas, oil and gas, missing child, schoolemergency and other events. When more than one alert is received relatedto the same emergency event, only the first alert may be transmitted tothe plurality of end users. The control system may comprise an emergencyresponder reporting component, a map updater, a device positiondeterminer, an emergency trigger, and a real-time update generator. Theone or more databases may store real-time maps and locations of thespecified facility or site for retrieval by the control system uponoccurrence of the emergency event. The map update may be a softwareand/or hardware component that is operable to update the display on themap in real-time or is configured to update the map data as the positionof a user changes. The map can also be a 3D representation of theinside, outside, or inside and outside of the building, facility, orevent. The device position determiner can be any combination of GPS,Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G, combination of CDMA/TDHA, orthogonal and non-orthogonal,MIMO, su-MIMO, mu-MIMO; light signals, mesh network, LED, or any othercombination of these technologies used to yield a position of thedevice. An emergency trigger may be a threshold, geofence, rule-basedengine, text, signal, alert, notification, or pre-established condition.The real-time update generator may be operable to use software to updatethrough the use of XML, API, links, code, applets, or other softwareupdates to the software as necessary for situational awareness and foremergency reporting

Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in theart from the following figures, descriptions and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is nowmade to the following description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an emergency responding platform in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of components of a control system that may beused in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of implementing an emergencyresponding platform in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of communication events which may occur inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 depicts a project list within an emergency responding platform inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 depicts a project details view within an emergency respondingplatform in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 depicts an emergency centers tab within an emergency respondingplatform in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 depicts a screen shot to raise an alert in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 depicts a screen shot to select an emergency type in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 depicts a screen shot of a warning or alert displayed to asupervisor in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 depicts a screen shot of an alert displayed to an end user inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 depicts an initial registration process according to anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 13 depicts a check-in, project access, and alert process accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a mobile applicationthat facilitates communication between and among users and makes usersaware of emergency situations and how to evacuate or seek help in agiven facility/site during an emergency situation. In an emergencysituation, the mobile application may guide users to one or moreevacuation routes and/or primary assembly areas associated with thefacility/site. The mobile application also may share share emergencycontacts and centers of project jobsite. Embodiments of the presentdisclosure also may provide easy accessibility for evacuation routemaps, emergency services, an/or contacts.

FIG. 1 depicts an emergency responding platform in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 1,information including, but not limited to, building plans, positionmonitors and/or manual inputs may be fed into a control system thatcommunicates with at least one database that may include a real-timedigital map of the facility/site. In one embodiment, the map may be athree-dimensional map of the facility or may be operable to update as aperson moves through the building or facility. One or more emergencyresponder users may provide updates to the control system. Similarly,one or more handheld portable devices associated with one or more usersmay provide updates to the control system. The control system may thendistribute updates from the one or more emergency responder users and/orone or more handheld portable devices to one or more handheld portabledevices. The control system also may activate sirens or other alerts inembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts a control system that may be used in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. As depicted herein, the controlsystem may be a computer/application system that may include one or morecomponents including, but not limited to, an emergency responderreporting component, a map updater, a device position determiner, awireless communication interface, an emergency trigger, and/or areal-time update generator.

It should be appreciated that the application may be available on bothAndroid and iOS platforms, as well as other mobile device platforms thatmay later become available including in native, non-native, and/orcloud-based formats, in embodiments of the present disclosure. Theapplication may be made available for use by end users who are in thespecified vicinity of a facility/site, registered with the application,and have checked-in using a QR code or PIN as described in more detailherein.

Users may download the application and may be prompted to provide one ormore items of information including, but not limited to, cell phonenumber, name, personal identification number (PIN), and/or emailaddress. It should be appreciated that certain items of information maybe mandatory for a user to provide to access the application; however,there may be other items of information that may be optional. It alsomay be appreciated that the application may provide more than onelanguage option so that a user may select which language to use withinthe application and in one embodiment, the application can change thelanguage based upon voice and/or language recognition. In someembodiments of the present disclosure, a one-time PIN or password may besent to the user to complete the sign-up process. In another embodiment,the user can register with the application using a retinal scan,thumbprint, voice recognition, and/or fingerprint. The one-time PIN orpassword may be input manually or the application may read thePIN/password itself to allow the user to proceed. While PINs orpasswords are described herein, it should be appreciated that othermechanism may be used to complete the sign-up process without departingfrom the present disclosure. In other embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the user may complete the setup using a call facility. Itshould be appreciated that sign-up may be based on the country locationof the portable device being used to initiate sign-up in embodiments ofthe present disclosure. Using the country location, the user's cellphone number may be prefixed with the country code.

FIG. 12 depicts an initial registration process according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In step 1201, a user may downloadthe application from one or more application stores. In step 1202, theuser may open the downloaded application and navigate to a login screen.It should be appreciated that there may be embodiments of the presentdisclosure where a user may be prompted for some permissions uponopening the application. It also may be appreciated that the user may bepresented with one or more splash screens that contain information aboutthe application and/or how to get started in embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The user may select, for example, a “get started,” icon tonavigate to a login screen in some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. On the login screen, the user may be presented with one ormore fields including, but not limited to, mobile number, country code,first name, and last name. In step 1203, the user may enter informationin these one or more fields, and in step 1204, the user may select“verify text” on the login screen. Upon selecting this button or icon, arequest may be sent to one or more servers, and in step 1205, the usermay receive a text code for mobile number verification. The user mayenter the text code and then select the “register” button or icon instep 1206. In step 1207, the user may be prompted to select a languagefor use within the application. It should be appreciated that thedefault language may be presented as English and one or more additionallanguage options may be provided. When a user selects a language, he/shewill see the entire application in that language unless a new languageis later selected.

Once a user has registered with the application, the user may beautomatically logged into the application using his/her cell phonenumber. This may provide a check to ensure that the user is properlyauthenticated. If there has been a change in subscriber identity module(SIM) when the user attempts to access the application, the user may beprompted to re-login. Moreover, in case of inactivity over a specifiedperiod of time, the user may be prompted to check in again.

Once the user has logged in, the user may be prompted to check into aspecific project using a QR code, thumbprint, retinal scan, voiceconfirmation, or PIN to be able to view details associated with theproject and/or the facility/site and receive emergency alerts. Oncechecked-in, the user may remain checked in that project until the useris no longer present in the vicinity of the facility/site as set withinthe application, via exiting a geofence, or as a user that may onlyreceive alerts within the application when he/she is in within thespecified vicinity of the facility/site.

FIG. 13 depicts a check-in, project access, and alert process accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. This process may be followedafter a user has been registered within the application. If the user isalready registered within the application, the user may be prompted toenter his/her mobile number and country code on the login screen. Instep 1301, the user may check into a project using a project PIN and/orby scanning a QR code associated with the project. After check-in, theuser may navigate to the project dashboard where the user may view thecheck-in project (step 1302). If the user has previously checked into aproject, the user may view all check-in projects on the dashboard. Ifthe user is a responder, he/she may see all projects where he/she alsoacts as an emergency contact for accepting or declining alerts.

The application also may include emergency persons or supervisors thatare users designated at each site to handle emergencies and raisealarms. These users may include site supervisors, managements, and/orother persons who are privy to the operations of the facility/site andcan maneuver in and around the premises. The application may enablethese supervisors to initiate necessary measures to address an emergencyalert in real-time with the aid of digital crisis management plans andbroadcasting features as described herein. Initiation of certainmeasures may be started by selecting an icon on the application, voicecommand, voice authentication, interrogating certain emergency services,contacting certain police, fire, and/or other law enforcement in thearea. It should be appreciated that a separate log-in or second measureof authentication may be provided for emergency supervisors. This log-inprocess and/or system verification may be the same for supervisors asthat described with respect to end users. Once the emergency supervisorhas logged in, the emergency supervisor may be directly checked into aspecific project. Certain projects may be earmarked for a supervisor toreceive alerts raised by checked-in end users. These projects may bedepicted with a supervisor icon and/or may be depicted with a specificcolor or other designation. It should be appreciated that theseearmarked projects may enable the supervisor to receive alertsregardless whether he/she is physically located on the premises at thetime that the alert is raised. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, an emergency supervisor may also be able to view photosand/or video associated with an alarm. The emergency supervisor istasked with verifying the credibility of the information providedregarding an emergency event and may normalize/close the emergency alarmonce the situation is under control. It should be appreciated that analert may remain in activated mode until the supervisor, emergencyservices, administrator, or network deactivates it. In activated mode,the end users may see the project with the alert in their respectiveproject lists, and they can view the details of the alert by selectingthe project. The emergency supervisor may be prompted to deactivate theprotocol and add comments, if any, about the alarm. Upon confirmation,the alarm may be deactivated, and end users may be notified. It shouldbe appreciated that emergency supervisors may be able to handle multiplesites.

It should be appreciated that all users of the application may bepermitted to view projects in list view if the users are within aspecified vicinity of the project. To access a particular project, auser may scan a QR code, enter a PIN relevant to the project, orotherwise register with the project. Once the QR code, PIN is entered,or other registration is accomplished, the user may be checked into theproject, and the user may view project-related safety details includingthe crisis management plan (CMP), emergency centers, emergency contacts,and emergency protocols. The project check-in feature may allowrestriction of access certain projects. In case he/she wants to makeproject public, a QR code/PIN may be displayed at prominent locations.Otherwise it may be limited to specified users. Checked-in or registeredusers may raise an alert for emergency conditions at the project site.To raise an alert, the user may click on an alert icon. The user maythen be directed to a camera component so that he/she may capture imagesand/or video about the emergency situation. The images and/or video maybe saved or archived, and the user may share it with the emergencycontacts and supervisor(s) associated with the specific project site.The emergency supervisor may assess the alert and then either raise thealarm or decline the alarm. If the alarm is approved, the users in theproject site vicinity having checked-in status may receive a warningmessage as will be described in more detail herein.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, a splash screen may beprovided within the application that provides one or more items ofinformation to a user. For example, a first screen may depict anemergency alert where an end user may notify a supervisor of theemergency situation. A second screen may depict a responder who willanalyze the emergency situation and take proper action. A third screenmay depict an emergency protocol to be followed to access securityservices. While three screens may be utilized before a user gets startedwithin the application, it may be appreciated that more or fewer thanthree screens may be utilized and/or the presentation of the informationto a user may change without departing from the present disclosure.

Projects and/or sites may be depicted within the application based onthe role that has been assigned to the user. For example, an end usermay see projects where he/she has checked in. An emergency contactsupervisor may see projects where the user is a supervisor as well asprojects where he/she is checked in. It should be appreciated thatprojects where the user is a supervisor may be designated, for example,using a different colored text. When a project list view is utilized,the list may include, but is not limited to, the project name, thebuilding type, the address, the distance, and/or a map view as depictedin FIG. 5. As depicted in FIG. 5, the project list may include a plusicon or button, and using this icon or button, the user may check intoanother project.

The application also may include a project details view as depicted inFIG. 6. The project details view may include one or more tabs. Forexample, the view may include a tab for accessing a crisis managementplan (CMP). The CMP may include a site map displaying the evacuationroute and/or assembly point. If used in multi-storeyed construction, afloor-specific multiple-site map may be included in the CMP. However, itshould be appreciated that additional information may be included in theCMP without departing from the present disclosure. In embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the floor plan may be saved offline to be accessedby the user once he/she has registered for the project to make theviewing experience run more smoothly and/or to allow access if the useris not connected to the Internet. For uploading the crisis managementplan (CMP) from the web, the defined area may be available to user, andthe user may have to fit the image within this frame. It should beappreciated that when a user navigates to the CMP from the projectdashboard, the images may be shown from the server-end of the system andthose images may be loaded by the admin assigned to the project.

The application may include video, photographs, text, audio, icons,alerts, and/or notifications alone or in combination to carry out theinventions described herein.

FIG. 6 also depicts a tab for emergency contacts that may provide one ormore key officials associated with the site. This tab also may includethe official's name, designation, location, and/or contact information(i.e., SMS, phone number, email address). It should be appreciated thatthe emergency contact may be called via API. If no emergency contact canbe identified, the user may be notified by “no data found.” The user maybe presented with one or more options including call, message and mail,wherein the user may communicate with the emergency contact. Another tabmay be provided for emergency protocols (EPs) such as evacuation routesand/or assembly areas. Again, these EPs may be called via one or moreAPIs.

As depicted in FIG. 7, another tab may provide emergency centers (ECs)that may be nearest in proximity to the facility/site subject to theemergency alert. The ECs may be provided in a list and/or map view andmay include, but are not limited to, hospitals, clinics, fire stations,and/or police departments. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the EC tab may include directions to the EC, distance to theEC, and/or contact information for the EC. If a user selects the EC tab,the user may be presented with all emergency centers that may be calledvia API. The user also may be presented with other centers that arewithin an area range. The user may be presented with one or more optionsto utilize to contact an EC, such as a call functionality where the usercan communicate with the EC and a direction functionality where the usermay see the exact location of the EC.

Returning to FIG. 13, in step 1303, the user may select a project andmay be provided with a syncing popup to indicate when a project has beensynced for offline access. After syncing, the user may be granted accessto the project and may be presented with one or more tabs, such as thoseshown and described with respect to FIG. 6. The user also may bepresented with an alert button wherein he/she may raise an alarm in anemergency situation, such as in step 1304.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of implementing an emergencyresponding platform in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. This method may include showing a crisis management plan ofa selected facility/site to all end users regardless the location of theend users. This may include a condition that the end users capture aphoto and/or record a video of the emergency event to provide evidenceof the emergency event. The crisis management map may be stored usingone or more databases that may be coupled with the control system. Datamay be broadcast regarding the facility/site. This data may include, butis not limited to, a real-time crisis management plan. The data may bebroadcast to an emergency responder agent in response to the triggeringof an emergency alert associated with the facility/site. The broadcastmay occur using an emergency notifier component that may be providedthrough the application according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It should be appreciated that conditions may be imposed, forexample, that an end user receiving the emergency alert is within aspecified distance of the facility/site; however, the emergency alertmay be raised from any location by a supervisor authorized to raise thealert.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of communication events which may occur inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. When an emergencyevent occurs, an emergency event alert may be triggered. The alert maybe sent to registered recipients, which may include all end users thatare identified as part of a project at a facility/site where the alertis raised. The alert may be validated, and a supervisor may be providedwith the authority to accept or reject the alert. A more detaileddiscussion of communication events within an emergency respondingplatform according to embodiments of the present disclosure is providedin FIGS. 8-11.

End users may be permitted to raise an alert in embodiments of thepresent disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 8, once an end user is checkedin and confirmed to be within a specified vicinity, the application maydisplay a question, such as “Do you want to raise an alarm?” andincluding icons or buttons designating “yes” or “no” from which the usermay select. While certain questions and icons or buttons are depicted inembodiments of the present disclosure, it should be appreciated thatmodifications to the questions/prompts and the means for selection maybe made without departing from the present disclosure. If the end userselects “yes,” the user may then be prompted to choose a type ofemergency as depicted in FIG. 9. Types of emergencies may include, butare not limited to, medical, fire/smoke, personal threat, violence,explosion, weather emergency, spill/leak and/or other. Once the end userhas selected a type of emergency, he/she may then select the “confirm”icon or button, and upon doing so, a notification may be sent to thesupervisor for alert confirmation. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the end user may receive a message or some othernotification that the alert has been raised to a supervisorsuccessfully.

It should be appreciated that an end user may be prompted or redirectedto the camera window in his/her handheld device. The end user may thenbe asked to capture a site photo/record video for documentary proof ofthe emergency event. The application may permit the end user to save thephoto/video and send them to the listed emergency contacts in real time.This documentary proof also may be saved in one or more databasesassociated with the application and relevant details (i.e., end user'smobile number, time/date of alert received) also may be saved. This logmay be maintained by the client admin as discussed herein. A warningmessage may be displayed (and optionally along with a sound and/orvibration notification) once an alert is verified and raised by anemergency supervisor. On receipt of an alert, all end users are enabledto see the photo/video that was provided to the emergency supervisor.

Returning to FIG. 13, if the user elects to a raise an alert, the usermay be navigated to a type of emergency screen where the user may selectone of a plurality of predefined emergency options. If the user'semergency falls outside of those options, the user may select “other”and provide information about the emergency type. When the user raisesan alert in step 1304, a popup message may be displayed to the userindicating that the alert has been raised successfully. At this stage,the alert may be sent to an emergency contact (i.e., responder and/orsupervisor).

As depicted in FIG. 10, a warning or alert message may be displayed tothe supervisor once an alert has been raised by an end user. In someembodiments of the present disclosure, sound and/or vibration mayaccompany the warning or alert message. In one embodiment, theapplication may allow a user to program a global alarm based upon havingcertain administrative rights, a specific administrative role, orotherwise that is provided wirelessly to sound emitting devices. Thewarning or alert message may include, but is not limited to, locationwhere the alert originated, how long ago the alert was sent, and/or theemergency type. The supervisor may elect to accept or reject the alert(FIG. 13, step 1305). If the supervisor elects to accept (raise) thealert, then a notification may be sent to all checked-in end users whoare present in the vicinity of the facility/site that is affected (FIG.13, step 1306). The supervisor then may be provided with a message orsome other notification that the alert has been raised successfully. Ifthe supervisor declines to raise the alert, the supervisor may beprompted to provide a reason for declining including, but not limitedto, this problem is already solved, an alarm has already been raised,the alert is spam, and/or other. If an alert raised turns out to bespam, the alert may be declined instantly in embodiments of the presentdisclosure. There also may be embodiments of the present disclosurewhere the end user that provides the alert determined to be spam may bedeactivated or barred from using all or a portion of the applicationfeatures. This adjustment typically may be made by a client admin. Thesupervisor could decline an alert if the emergency event is not seriousenough to vacate the facility/site immediately (i.e., the event may beaddressed easily). Further, if multiple end users send multiple alertsfor the same emergency, only one alert should be accepted and the restmay be declined by providing those end users with a comment that thealert has already been raised. It should be appreciated that there maybe other grounds for declining an alert, and the supervisor may do so byregistering his/her remarks on the alert. Those comments may be savedfor further assessment as well as data-keeping within the application.

On receipt of an alarm, all end users may also be able to see the typeof emergency that was shared with emergency contacts. FIG. 11 depicts ascreen shot that may be provided to an end user receiving the alarm inembodiments of the present disclosure. This screen may include a “showme where to go” button, touchscreen selection, or icon. If the userselects this icon or button, the user may be redirected to the emergencyprotocol tab. It should be appreciated that there may be embodiments ofthe present disclosure where latitude/longitude may be saved for endusers to update their specific locations. It also should be appreciatedthat the alarm should be raised to end users who are in the vicinity ofthe facility/site in question and are checked-in. The alarm may be in anactivated mode until the emergency contact person or supervisordeactivates the alarm. In the activated mode, end users may be able tosee the project with an identifier for emergency in the project list. Anend user may view the details of the emergency by selecting theidentifier. Once the emergency contact or supervisor deactivates thealarm (FIG. 13, step 1307), the end user may receive a pop-upnotification. The emergency contact or supervisor may be prompted toprovide comments as to why the alarm is being deactivated. The list viewof the project may be normalized thereafter.

While embodiments of the present disclosure may be used on constructionjob sites, it should be appreciated that applications may be used toprovide first-hand safety access and/or emergency alerts forfacilities/sites in other business situations without departing from thepresent disclosure. In addition, the present disclosure covers eventplanning, office management, outside events, parks, oil and gasoperations, and healthcare applications. Further, while embodiments ofthe present disclosure are described with respect to users utilizingportable handheld devices that are enabled for wireless communication,it should be appreciated that other types of devices, such as desktopcomputers, may be utilized without departing from the presentdisclosure. Further, while the application according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be installed on a portable handheld device,there may be other embodiments of the present disclosure where users mayaccess the application through other means, such as through an Internetbrowser. Regardless what method a user utilizes to access theapplication, the user may be provided with defined functions to exchangeinformation about an emergency situation within the vicinity of afacility/site to a pre-defined list of emergency contacts. In addition,while numerous features and screens have been described with respect tothe application, it should be appreciated that the application, atminimum, may include a button or icon that enables users to promptactions/response to an emergency situation.

It should be appreciated that information regarding evacuation of usersfrom facilities/sites and the surrounding area(s) may be broadcast toselected users based on their status of having checked into afacility/site through the application. While check-in may occur throughuse of a quick response (QR) code or PIN as described herein, it shouldbe appreciated that other means of check-in may be utilized withoutdeparting from the present disclosure. Further, when crisis managementplans (CMPs) are referenced herein, the egress points and escape routeswithin the CMPs may be determined for each specific level or area of afacility/site in embodiments of the present disclosure. However, othermethods of determining or setting egress points and escape routes may beutilized without departing from the present disclosure. Further,evacuation plans may be determined for users within a facility/sitethrough use of one or more dedicated emergency protocols in embodimentof the present disclosure, thereby enabling prompt evacuation when anemergency event occurs. Having dedicated emergency protocols in placemay reduce the response time in an emergency situation, thus mitigatinginjuries or other casualties, for example. When the application isdescribed as maintaining location data, it should be appreciated thatthis may mean saving latitude/longitude positions for users and thenallowing users to update these positions when an alert is raised;however, other methods for maintaining and updating location data may beutilized without departing from the present disclosure.

Administrative functionalities for the application may be web-based inembodiments of the present disclosure. It should be appreciated that oneor more administrative levels may be provided within the application inembodiments of the present disclosure. For example, there may be one ormore super admin users from a product owner team, and there may be oneor more client admins from the platform user side. However, there may beother embodiments where only one type of admin may be provided.

Super admins may have access to an exclusive dashboard view of theapplication interface that may provide a list of clients and/or a listof client sites. Super admins may be provided with details to enableclient account management. Various usage packages may be made availableto users, and these packages may include certain features, including,but not limited to, an identification of accessible facilities, thenumber of users allowed, and package expiration information. Superadmins may be able to review usage pattern information, including theexpiration and the allowable number of users in a package. Super adminsalso may maintain logs of deployed solutions on the compatible serverinfrastructure identified and directed by a client.

Client admins may be provided with various user-managementfunctionalities that may be facility/site-specific, including theability to add, edit and/or delete sites, change names/locations ofsites, add site emergency contacts, edit or deactivate the site admin,and share account credentials with a user. Client admins also may havesite data management functionalities including the ability to definelocation names/floors, manage a site location using latitude/longitude,view logs for logged-in users on site, and view images and/or videosuploaded by end users in an emergency situation. Client admins maymanage users and site data including editing/deactivating site admins.Client admins also may maintain site-relevant data including, locationnames/floors, CMPs, emergency centers (addition/editing/deletion),emergency contacts (addition/editing/deletion), designation of emergencyprotocols, site location management using latitude/longitude, logsassociated with logged-in users on site, and viewing of images and/orvideos that are uploaded. Client admins may pre-define the firstresponder lists for the sites/facilities where they are responsible.This list may include, but is not limited to, the names, contactnumbers, and job designation details of the first responders. Clientadmins may manually input information on emergency centers based ontheir proximity to the facility/site in question; however, there may beembodiments of the present disclosure where automated information may beprovided, such as through the Google location APIs. Client admins alsomay share account login credentials with end users.

Web admins will be able to see history logs for mobile users. Lastlogged-in status may be shown for all mobile users. New additions inusers also may be shown. Web admin will be provided with GoogleTranslate or equivalent interface to manage contents in differentlanguages as application is multilingual. Though the input titles andother instructions on the application may be multilingual, there may beembodiments of the present disclosure where the input fields may berestricted to a single language.

In another embodiment, the application is configure to interface with anannunciator, building alarm, IP camera, speaker, microphone, or anyother alarm that is part of a building, walls, plant, or structure(which may be referred to herein as “annunciator devices”). Annunciatordevices are configured to be integrated with a location, business, orbuilding. Annunciator devices may comprise a strobe light, microphone,speaker, alarm, may be operable to make an alarm sound, may be operableto receive a message and/or signal related to an alarm event, may beoperable to receive a pre-defined or real time message, may play apre-defined or real time message, may be operable to receive anencrypted message and/or alarm, and may include or exclude any of theseexamples alone or in combination. The application may be operable tointerface with one or more annunciator devices through directcommunication or indirect communication, through wireless or wiredcommunication, through various networks such as the Internet, Wi-Fi,LTE, ZigBee, Z-wave, mesh networks, one or more servers, cloudarchitectures, through a security system, or any combination of thesenetworks. In such a configuration, an alarm from the application may besent to a system that is operable to control one or more annunciatordevices in a given space. Upon validation of the alarm, the system maythen be configured to send an alarm and/or message to one or moreannunciator devices, wherein the annunciator devices may be operable toplay a message over a speaker wherein the message may be a predefinedmessage, custom message, saved message, or live message. In thisembodiment, having the annunciator devices play voice messages mayprovide additional awareness of a given emergency situation in thebuilding, plant, or other venue. Rather than a flashing light and/orloud alarm, the patrons or employees receives a message or alert thatdirectly indicates what kind of emergency is occurring, and perhaps evenon which floor the emergency is related to for situational awarenesspurposes. The message provided through the annunciator devices can be afire alarm, active shooter alarm, flood alarm, security alarm, employeealarm, healthcare alarm, building alarm or any of these alarms alone orin combination. The application may be operable to present a graphicaluser interface wherein the user can press an alert icon, wherein uponpressing the icon, an alarm may be sent to the devices registered orassociated with the system. Upon receipt of the alarm, one or moreclient administrators may determine to confirm or decline the alarmcondition. Upon confirmation of the alarm, the alarm message or signalmay be sent to either the building system that has control and maycommunication with one or more annunciator devices or directly to theannunciator devices. The client administrators may create and/or send amessage that is to be played on one or more of the annunciator devicesand the message comprises voice, text, or an alarm sound. In oneembodiment, the system communicating with the annunciator devices mayreceive the message and approve the message for it to be played on theone or more annunciator devices, which would provide a two-factorauthentication before the message is played. In another embodiment, thesame or similar message may also be received by devices subscribed orregistered with the application. If devices are in silent mode orvibrate mode, the system may be configured to override this setting onthe phone such that the message with video, text, alarm, or voice may beplayed, received, or an audible sound to alert may be played so the userof an emergency condition or situation will hear or otherwise be alertedto the emergency. The annunciator devices may be grouped by floor,building, set of buildings, location, grouping of offices, or one officewherein the annunciator devices can play the message on one or moreannunciator devices in the pre-defined or custom-based devices can playthe same or different message. For example, a certain floor of thebuilding may play a message that is voice-based and on a different flooror in the lobby for example, an annunciator device may sound an alarm orflashing light.

On the application, one or more client admins may create a custom voice,text, or define a certain alarm condition to be played on one or moreannunciator devices. On the application, the message may be sent bypressing of an icon or one or more icons that represent various alarms.The client admins or emergency supervisor may also create a custom voiceor text message on the application. The client admins on the applicationcan also communicate directly with the annunciator devices using theapplication. The application also may be operable to communicate withthe building system or system that is in communication with theannunciator devices wherein the system that is in communication with theannunciator devices may be operable to register or authenticate the userof the application. In another embodiment, the system that is incommunication with the annunciator devices may pre-register certainclient admins or authenticate certain events that can be triggered bythe application once a client admin has chosen to elevate the alarmcondition (through selection of an icon, voice control, touchscreenselection, clicking or other selection) on the application.

Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been describedin detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutionsand alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developedthat perform substantially the same function or achieve substantiallythe same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may beutilized according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the appendedclaims are intended to include within their scope such processes,machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An emergency reporting method comprising:receiving an alert about an emergency event at a selected facility orsite via a control system having a wireless communication interface fromone of a plurality of end users logged into an emergency applicationconnected with the control system and confirmed to be associated withthe selected facility or site; verifying the accuracy of the alert aboutthe emergency event; transmitting the alert to the plurality of endusers logged into the emergency application and confirmed to beassociated with the selected facility or site; and in response totransmitting the alert, displaying a crisis management plan to theplurality of users logged into the emergency application and confirmedto be associated with the selected facility or site, the crisismanagement plan including a map of the selected facility or sitedisplaying an evacuation route and/or assembly route, wherein the crisismanagement plan is stored using one or more databases coupled with acontrol system that provides real-time updating and assessment of theemergency event occurring at the specified facility or site, the controlsystem comprising an emergency responder reporting component, a mapupdates, a device position determiner, an emergency trigger, and areal-time update generator.
 2. The emergency reporting method of claim1, wherein the verifying step includes receiving one or more items ofdocumentary evidence from the one of the plurality of end users thatprovided the alert.
 3. The emergency reporting method of claim 1 furthercomprising: providing the plurality of end users with information aboutemergency centers that are nearest in proximity to the specifiedfacility or site.
 4. The emergency reporting method of claim 3, whereinemergency centers are selected from the group comprising: hospitals,clinics, fire stations, medical clinics, first aid stations, and policedepartments.
 5. The emergency reporting method of claim 1, wherein anemergency supervisor performs the verifying step using the controlsystem.
 6. The emergency reporting method of claim 1, wherein theplurality of end users check into the control system by providing aquick response (QR) code or personal identification number (PIN).
 7. Theemergency reporting method of claim 1, wherein the received alertidentifies a location where the alert originated, time when the alertwas sent, and an emergency type.
 8. The emergency reporting method ofclaim 7, wherein the emergency type is selected from the groupcomprising: medical, fire, smoke, personal threat, violence, explosion,weather emergency, spill, leak, and other.
 9. The emergency reportingmethod of claim 1, wherein when more than one alert is received relatedto the same emergency event, only the first alert is transmitted to theplurality of end users.
 10. The emergency reporting method of claim 1,wherein the one or more databases store real-time maps and locations ofthe specified facility or site for retrieval by the control system uponoccurrence of the emergency event.